Glenn Gould's appeal is as cultish as ever, and both of these 1955 and 1981 recordings of the Goldberg Variations - reissued this year to mark 20 years since the pianist's death - are essential parts of any CD collection. Gould's extraordinary career was bracketed by the work: the 1955 recording established his reputation, while the 1981 version was released just days before his sudden death at the age of 50. The two recordings provide a fascinating comparison. The most startling contrast is in the sheer length of the performances. In 1955 Gould got through the work in 38 minutes; in 1981 he took 51. In the later account there is a broadness, a sense of contemplation in a work that clearly meant more to him than any other. Buy Bach: The Complete Goldberg Variations at Amazon.co.uk

Elgar: Symphonies Nos 1, 2 and 3 LSO/Davis (LSO Live)

Any of these three Elgar CDs, recorded live by the London Symphony Orchestra and Colin Davis last year, would make great stocking fillers - and at £5.99 a go, cheap ones at that. There are some performances that do not retain their concert-hall magic when transferred to CD, but Davis's Elgar is not one of them. Davis jettisons all pretensions to nostalgic Englishness and anchors the works firmly in the European post-Romantic tradition. Sections are as unnerving as anything in Mahler. Buy Elgar: Symphony No 1 at Amazon.co.ukBuy Elgar: Symphony No 2 at Amazon.co.ukBuy Elgar: Symphony No 3 at Amazon.co.uk

Who could turn their nose up at a collection of swooningly beautiful Handel arias from one of the great contemporary counter-tenors? This is not a predictable survey of Handel's lollipops but a tour of less well-known numbers, some originally written for castrati, others for female singers. David Daniels lavishes on them all the characteristics of his art: an effortless, seductive tone and a faultless distillation of the drama of the text into a concentrated essence. Buy Handel: Oratorio Arias at Amazon.co.uk

Not only does this CD's inclusion of Mikhail Pletnev's flashy transcription of The Nutcracker bring a whiff of seasonality (without being naff), it is also one of the most thrilling piano CDs of recent times. The young Macedonian Simon Trpceski has everything: a technique that copes effortlessly with all the demands of Pletnev's take on Tchaikovsky and the Three Dances from Stravinsky's Petrushka, and a musicality that maintains a perfect balance in the most impressive of all Prokofiev's sonatas. Buy Tchaikovsky: Simon Trpceski at Amazon.co.uk

Welitsch Various (Preiser, 2 CDs)

"I'm not a German peasant, I'm a sexy Bulgarian," the soprano Ljuba Welitsch once said when asked why she never sang Wagner - the kind of comment that fuelled her reputation as 20th-century opera's ultimate sex goddess. On this CD, pride of place goes to her 1950 version of the final scene of Salome, with Fritz Reiner conducting. But we also hear her as Weber's Agathe, and as a glacial and neurotic Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni. One of the greatest singers who ever lived. Buy Welitsch: Various at Amazon.co.uk

Korngold: Lieder Henschel/ Deutsch (Harmonia Mundi)

Any fan of Korngold's swashbuckling film scores would appreciate this CD, which forms a retrospective survey that runs from the Eichendorff songs, composed when he was a teen prodigy, to the nostalgic Sonett fur Wien, dating from 1953. The high points include a brave setting of Christina Rossetti's Requiem, written in 1915, and the famous Opus 38 set, based on his soundtracks. The vocal and stylistic range required is colossal, and baritone Dietrich Henschel confirms his status as today's most versatile lieder singer in performances that combine passion with tenderness, and sensuality with urbane wit. Buy Korngold: Lieder at Amazon.co.uk

Celebrate the year Our Simon started work at the Berlin Philharmonic with this six-CD collection of highlights from the careers of past music directors of arguably the world's greatest orchestra. There's Claudio Abbado's recording of Mahler's Symphony No 5, and Rattle's Mahler 10. The contribution from Arthur Nikisch is his 1913 account of Beethoven's Fifth, the first complete recording of a symphony. Wilhelm Furtwängler's 1938 version of Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony is a classic, and Herbert von Karajan's Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde is titanic. Buy Berliner Philharmoniker Commemorative Box Set at Amazon.co.uk

For those who appreciate the singing lovebirds Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, here is their take on Verdi's Trovatore. Antonio Pappano's conducting, and the LSO's playing, are a huge success. However, the principals' lyric voices are not, on the face of it, weighty enough for the roles of Leonora and Manrico. Gheorghiu capitalises on the problem, bringing a rare tenderness to her big arias. Alagna's voice occasionally acquires a rough edge, losing its beauty. Buy Verdi: Il Trovatore at Amazon.co.uk

About this article

Christmas review: classical CDs

This article appeared on p12 of the Friday Review section of the Guardian
on Thursday 5 December 2002.
It was published on
the Guardian website
at 11.46 EST on Friday 6 December 2002.
It was last modified at 11.46 EST on Tuesday 10 December 2002.
It was first published at 11.46 EST on Tuesday 10 December 2002.